ICIS Innovation Awards 2013

ICIS Chemical Business has recently launched their Innovation Awards for 2013. And SusChem coordinator Dr. Jacques Komornicki will be part of the judging panel this year. The ICIS Innovation Awards were launched in 2004 by European Chemical News and are celebrating their tenth anniversary this year. The awards have grown in popularity with each succeeding year and SusChem has been proud to have contributed to their judging panels on many occasions.

Innovation is a key driver for growth and profitability in the chemical sector. And the ICIS Innovation Awards are designed to recognise the best in chemical innovation.

The awards are open to any chemical company or collaborative effort between industry and academia anywhere in the World. The judging panel will be looking for innovative projects that solve problems or provide solutions for the company or its customers or that demonstrate an innovative approach to business, the environment and sustainability.

"I am really pleased to be part of this year's ICIS Innovation awards judging panel," said Jacques. "And am looking forward to seeing some truly innovative and sustainable entries."

Jacques (pictured left) has extensive experience of both managing international, interdisciplinary research and development projects and translating business goals into R&D objectives and planning. These are skills that will come useful in the judging process.

Jacques joined Cefic as Innovation manager and SusChem coordinator in September 2012 following an industrial career, his last position being Global R&D Director 'Oxygenated Products' at the Arkema Centre de Recherche Rhône-Alpes (CRRA) in Lyon, France.

He has a masters degree in Chemical Engineering from ESPCI Paris Tech and he gained his PhD in Chemistry at the Paris VI University in 1981 with his thesis on the “Application of Micro-Emulsions to Liquid-Liquid Metals Extraction”.

Other members of the 2013 judging panel include Dr Klaas Kruithof director of research, development and innovation at AkzoNobel’s Performance Coating business, Gianni Girotti who heads up R&D at ENI Versalis’s new green chemistry division and Dr. Neil Checker a partner at the Roland Berger consultancy – the overall sponsor of this year’s ICIS Innovation Awards.

How to enter?
Past ICIS awards winners have included the largest multinational and the smallest ‘micro’ SME – but the common denominator for success has always been the quality of the innovation.

This year there are five prize categories to choose from:

• Best Product Innovation
• Best Innovation by a Small or Medium-sized Enterprise (SME)
• Best Business Innovation
• Best Innovation for Sustainability
• Innovation with Best Environmental Benefit

An overall winner will be picked from the winners of the five individual categories. In 2012 the overall winner was Dow Chemical for its INFUSE olefin block copolymers entry and 2011 saw Teijin Group win with its mass production technology for carbon-fibre reinforced composites. Will 2013 be your year for success?

To get involved this year just visit to the ICIS Awards website, select the award category you want to enter, complete the simple online application form, upload any supporting materials and click ‘submit’.

A confirmation of receipt of your entry will be sent to you by email and the closing date for entries is 3 July. A short list of entries will be published on 12 August and the winners revealed on 21 October. Good luck!

For more information about the ICIS Chemical Business Innovation Awards or for specific queries contact John Baker at ICIS.